Stop motion device for sliver processing machines



Dec. 15, 1953 w. J. scoTT 2,662,251

STOP MOTION DEVICE FOR SLIVER PROCESSING MACHINES Filed April 26, 1951 IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNEYS o Patented Dec. 15, 1953 STOP MOTION DEVICE FOR SLIVER PROCESSING MACHINES Walter J. Scott, Woonsocket, R. I.

Application April 26, 1951, Serial No. 223,015

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a stop motion for a sliver processing machine.

In processing a sliver prior to the formation of roving, particularly in wool processing, there has been a reduction in the number of machines used to provide the blending, drawing, and doubling of slivers prior to the formation of roving. The slivers are passed through the processing machines at a very much faster speed than in the older type machines. Because of the speed and the lesser number of passes through the machines, it is very important that the slivers be made uniform at each stage of the operation. To this end, machines have electrically operated stop motion devices thereon to effect stoppage of the machine when a failure in an individual sliver occurs so as to bring the machine to rest. These stop motion devices have not been entirely satisfactory in that in many instances the same have failed to properly function due in part to lint and other foreign matter collecting at the point of engagement between the electrical contacts of the stop motion to block passage of electrical energy therebetween or there has been pitting or burning out of the contact point.

An object of the invention is to provide an elec trically operated stop motion device so constructed as to cause automatic removal of lint and other foreign matter from the engaging surfaces of the electrical contacts of the device.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrically operated stop motion device so constructed as to present a continuous change of contacting surface on one of the electrical contacts of the device for the other of the contacts to engage.

. Another object of the invention is to provide an electrically operated stop motion device so constructed as to provide for a sweeping engagement between the electrical contacts of the device.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrically operated stop motion device so constructed as to prevent pitting or burning of the electrical contacting engaging portion of the device to any material degree.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an electrically operated stop motion device in which one of the electrical contacts will be of a form and so arranged as to provide for a moving knife-edge engagement between contacts.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a fragmental portion of a sliver processing machine which is provided with a stop motion device embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the stop motion device shown in Figure 1 on an enlarged scale;

Figure 3 is a view partly in section taken substantially along line 3-3 of Figure 2 on an enlarged scale and showing one position of one of the contacts of the device in full lines and another position thereof in dot and dash lines;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the device shown in Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 5-5 of Figure 2.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a set of electrical contacts electrically insulated from each other and position these in the electric circuit of the machine in such a manner that when engagement between the said contacts is made, the said circuit will operate to bring the machine to rest. One of said contacts is arranged to be held out of engagement with the other contact by the sliver while being drawn through the machine, and the said other contact is arranged to be continuously rotated. Upon the failure of said sliver, the contact supported thereby will be free to move into engagement with the rotating contact which will have a sweeping or scraping action thereon which will mechanically remove any lint or foreign matter from the contacts to assure a positive electrical connection therebetween. This scraping action between contacts will also have the tendency to polish or remove any carbon deposit or oxidation of the contacting surface whereby to prevent the burning or pitting of the contacts and to further assure proper electrical engagement.

Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description of the invention, I0 designates generally an apparatus or machine which may be of any well-known form employed for processing wool and like fibers prior to the formation of roving. The apparatus is shown more or less diagrammatically, as by way of example only, and includes a creel l I having a frame support i2 on which is mounted a plurality of guide rollers l3 over which are guided slivers H as received from the Nobel combs. The slivers extend over a rod l5 which is supported at the upper ends of brackets I6 fastened to some convenient portion of the machine such as the frame of the creel I i. The brackets l6 extend above the rod l5 and pro-.

scraping edges24 (see Figure 3).

vide between them and rod IS a restricted path for the slivers so as to guide them over the said rod side by side, The slivers pass from the rod l5 to a pair of driven feed rollers I! of the machine, which feed rollers pull the sliver from the creel to pass the same over a table or conveyor l8 from which the slivers pass to between a condenser arrangement l9 to be combined and worked upon such as by means of combs which are arranged to pass through the combined slivers to straighten the fibers thereof into parallelism, all in a usual manner in the processing of slivers prior to the formation of roving.

A stop motion device designated generally 21 which forms the subject of this invention is preferably positioned at a location between the creel v I l and the feed rollers l'l so as to be at a location to detect any individual sliver failure prior to passing of the same into the combing or drawing portion of the machine. The stop motion device may be supported at this location in any convenient manner such, for example, as by means of a bracket 22 attached to the adjacent end of the frame of the apparatus.

The stop motion device 2! comprises an electrical contact 23 which is made in elongated form and may be of any of various non-circular shapes in cross section but preferably it is made polygonal'so as toprovide relatively sharp corners or This contact 23 is provided with a reduced circular trunnion 25 at one end thereof and a reduced circular spindle 26 at the other end thereof. The contact 23 is journalled for rotation in bearing blocks 21 which are fastened to the lower'end portion of straps 28 (see- Figures 2, '3 or 5) as by means of bolts 30 extending through the straps and threadingly engaging the said blocks 21. A lock washer 31 may be positioned between the heads of the bolts and the said straps to insure a secure fastening to the blocks. The upper portions of the straps are each provided with an opening 32 (Figure 5) and are inturn secured to a bar 33 as by means of bolts 34 passing through the said openings 32 and threadingly engaging the said bar 33 which mounts the said contact '23 on said bar to extend lengthwise thereof in spaced relation therewith and substantially parallel thereto. The contact 23 is electrically insulated from the bar 33 (see Figure 5) by means of an electrical insulating washer 35 which is positioned between the bolt head and the said strap 28, the said bolt being of a lesser diameter than the said opening 32 and out of contact with the wall thereof, and

an insulating block 35' is positioned between the a strap 28 and the bar 33.

There are mounted on thefront side of the bar 33 at the lower marginal edge thereof spaced circular blocks 36 (see Figures 2 and'3) which may be secured in position such as by cap screws 31. These blocks 36 each have an opening 38 which extends diametrically therethrough -in line with each other which receive a rod '39 which may be secured to the blocks as by means of frictional engagement with the walls of said openings 38. A row of a plurality of similar contacts 40 each has a cylindrical body 4| pivotally mounted on the said" rod 39 by means of an opening 42 which receives the said rod 39.

An Lshaped member 43 (see Figure 3) isattached in an inverted position to the lower end of each body 41 by means of screws 44 and depends therefrom to be in position to move into engagement with the contact'23 when its body is swung about the pivotrod 3B. the said con- 4 tact 23 being common to the said plurality of contacts 40. An annulus 45 having a threaded stem 46 threadingly engages the upper portion of each body 4| axially thereof and is locked in adjusted position by means of a lock nut 41. The Y annulus or ring 45 has a flared flange 48 and provides a guide through which a sliver passes as drawn from the creel II. The rings 45 are positioned in staggered relation to each other (see Figure 2) and are maintained in this spaced relation by means of spacers 49 which are secured to a metal strip 50 (see Figure 4). This strip is in turn attached to the bar 33 in spaced relation therewith by means of screws 5| which extend through the said strip 50 and spacer washers '52 to threadingly engage the bar 33'. There is a spacer 49 extending into the space between each contact 40 and at the outer side of the end contacts.

The bar 33 is provided at each end with an angle bracket 53 which may be attached thereto such as by bolts 54, by which brackets 53 the stop motion device may be attached in the desired position on the machine at the location previously described so as to provide for detect-' ing and arresting the machine upon the failure of a broken or run-out sliver. The individual slivers are passed through the rings 45 and engage with the walls thereof to move the contact about the rod 39 and the portion 43 of the contact out of engagement with the'contact 23 and will hold this contact in said position, as shown in Figure 3, until such time as the sliver runs out or is broken which will then free the contact to swing by gravity about its pivot 39 to the dot and dash line position shown in this Fi ure 3 for the portion 43 thereof to engage with the contact 23, thereby closing such electric circuit in which the stop motion device may be positioned. The contact 48 is so positioned as to have its center of gravity so located that it will swing about rod 39.

There is mounted on the spindle 28 a pulley 55 which may be driven in any convenient manner from some power source taken from the machine, which by way of example may be a belt 58 from a smaller pulley 51 carried on a jack shaft 58, this jack shaft in turn being driven by means of a larger pulley 53 carried on the jack shaft and which may be connected as by means of a belt 68 to a power source (not shown) on the machine. It is desirable that the contact 23 be rotated at a relatively low speedand the size of the pulleys will be chosen to pro-'- vide such preferred speed of rotation. The drive herein shown for the contact 23 is merely exemplary and any well-known gear arrangement may be utilized depending upon the power source chosen and its location relative to the said contact 23.

In most sliver processing machines, the same are usually operated by a motor, the circuit of which is opened by appropriate electricaldevices-to bring the motor and the machine to rest. In the present instance the contacts 23 and 40 are positioned in the motor circuit (not shown) in such a manner that upon engagement of the contacts 23 and), such'device-or devices will operate to bring the motor and machine to rest.

The operation of the stop motion devicev will be apparent from the above; however, it is pointed out that when the machine is in operation, the contact 23 will be continuously rotated at a relativelylow speed and when the contact" is free to move into engagement with the contact 23, the edges 24 thereof will tend to scrape and remove such lint or other foreign matter which may be lodged on either the contact 23 or 40, thereby maintaining the same clean for a positive electrical connection therebetween. It will also be apparent that this scraping action between contacts will also tend to polish and remove such oxidation which may have formed on the contacts by arcings and will prevent burning or pitting the contacts to such an extent as to render the same inoperative. It will also be apparent from Figure 3 that at some point of engagement between the contacts 23 and 43, the said engagement will extend over an entire flat of the contact 23, thereby providing a relatively large area of contacting surface.

In practice, the contacts 40 are placed in one branch of the electric circuit by including the supporting structure of the said contact 40 and the contact 23 is placed in the electric circuit such as by means of a lead 6| which may be attached at any convenient location to the strap 27 such as by means of an electrical connection 52, as shown in Figure 2.

I claim:

1. In a stop motion device for a sliver processing machine comprising a first electrical contact rotatably mounted at a location on said machine to be out of the path of movement of said sliver, means for rotating said contact, said first contact being shaped in cross section to provide non-circular engaging portions thereon, a, second contact electrically insulated from said first contact and pivotally mounted for gravitational movement towards said first contact and having a portion thereof extending on one side of said pivotal mounting to be positioned in the path or movement of the sliver to be engaged thereby to be held out of engagement with the first contact, said second contact having a portion thereof on the other side of said pivotal mounting for engaging the first contact upon rocking of said second contact upon the same being free of said sliver.

2. In a stop motion device as set forth in claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of said second contacts, and said first contact is common to all of said plurality of second contacts.

3. In a stop motion device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the portion of said second contact engageable with the first contact is substantially L-shaped.

4. In a stop motion device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for rotating said first con tact includes a pulley atached to said first contact.

5. In a stop motion device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first contact has a portion thereof non-circular in cross section for engagement with the second contact and has a reduced spindle portion for receiving a driving means thereon.

WALTER J. SCOTT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 190,127 Bullough May 1, 1877 1,018,029 Bel1 Feb. 20, 1912 1,455,884 Harrop et a1. May 22, 1923 1,920,767 Scott Aug. 1, 1933 2,387,961 Wihanto Oct. 30, 1945 

